


Bodiless

by comealonghutch



Category: Josh Hutcherson - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Halloween, Josh Hutcherson - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2013-10-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 16:00:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/993816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/comealonghutch/pseuds/comealonghutch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You may not believe in ghosts, demons, vampires and witchcraft.  You may not believe that once something is dead it can come back in another form. But for the sake of this story I want you to push all those notions aside. Open your mind to all possibilities. And who knows - maybe you’ll begin to think a little differently. Maybe then you’ll realize you’re not alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. [one]

THE MOVING VAN FINALLY PULLS UP TO OUR NEW HOUSE. We’ve been on the road for over an hour. It stops in front of the black iron gate and Josh goes out to open it. The last time I saw this house was the day we bought it. It’s much bigger than I remember it. It’s a two story brick house from the 1800s in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky. Josh gets back in and we proceed up the gravel driveway. The yard is enormous and surrounded by old large trees. Perfect for our new family, I think as I rub my pregnant belly. 

"We can totally put in a tire swing for our little one in one of these trees," Josh remarks.

I smile and think, how did I get so lucky.

We both get out of the van stretching our limbs out from the long stretch of driving. We meet at the hood and he puts his arm around me as we look up at our new home.

"Home sweet home," I say.

"Let’s take a picture in front of it," Josh says. He goes to pull out his phone but I stop him.

"I’ve got a couple photos left on the disposable," I tell him pulling it out of my handbag, "You know how I enjoy the physical copies. Plus, it’ll make photo albums easier."

He takes it from my hand and winds it up. “You’re so old-fashioned, Alice.”

"Just like this house," I lightly jab my elbow into his side.

"Ready?" he asks. 

"Mhmm."

He sets it on the hood of the van and runs back to stand with me. The winding sound counting down before it takes the photo. 

Snap.

The wind begins to pick up blowing leaves around the yard. The clouds growing a darker grey and moving quickly. 

"We should try and get as much boxes in before this storm starts up," he says heading to the back of the van to lift up the door to the trunk.

We each grab a box making our way to the front door.

—-

As we finish getting the last of the boxes inside the skies open up. Mixed with the downpour are slow rumbles of thunder. 

"Perfect weather for our first night in our creepy ass home," I mutter as I start assembling sandwiches for our dinner. 

We take our sandwiches to the living room and sit on the couch.

"When is the cable guy coming to set up the television again?" 

"He said next week," Josh replied with his mouth full.

"Guess you’re going to have to watch the game from you phone then," I teased.

"Woe is me," he spoke with his hand on his chest. "Well, Mrs. Hutcherson, I’m tired. Why don’t we retire to the bedroom?"

"Sounds good, husband."

As Josh and I are making are way up the creepy stairs the lights begin to flicker in the house. The hair on the back of my neck starting to stand. I’m half expecting a door to slam or a window to fling open sending gusts of wind and leaves in. But I push the notions out of my head and get ready for bed. It’s just an old house. Things are bound to creak and the wiring is old.

The master bedroom is fairly open room on the left side of the house. The only items of furniture present is our bed, a full length mirror and one night table containing a lamp. The rest in boxes scattered around the room.

We pull the duvet covers back and settle into each others arms with my head on his chest. He kisses my forehead while tracing circular patterns along my bare shoulder. 

"Hey, Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna christen the bedroom?" 

I giggle a bit. 

"Of course," I reply as I place my lips on his. Our lips danced a slow number at first but as the intensity grew turned into a fiery cha cha. Our mouths part so we can take the clothes off each other. A routine we’ve perfected to less than thirty seconds. His hands and mouth find my left breast as he licks and kneads at a desirable pace. He looks up at me and I can tell his sex drive is in full swing as his sweet hazel eyes are almost a dark black. I slide my hand down his now slick abdomen and grab hold of his member. 

I wrap my digits around and begin to move at the same pace of Josh’s kneading. His pace slowed as he gave into my movements. I took this opportunity to wiggle out from what grasp he had on me and moved my head lower until I was eye level with his cock. 

"Oh, fuck, yes baby, suck it," Josh groaned. I send him a quick smile before my mouth envelopes him. Before I can choose my pace, Josh’s hands are at each side of my head guiding me up down, pushing me deeper.

"Shit, I’m gunna come if we keep doing this. Let me fuck you." He turned me around and had me on my hands and knees, quickly entering from behind.

I got lost in the rhythm, closing my eyes and feeling in the moment. Letting some moans escape. 

I remembered we had placed the full length mirror at the end of the bed and thought it would be hot to watch Josh in the act. When I looked up a shriek escaped my mouth.

"What the fuck? Are you okay? What happened? Did I hurt you?" Josh says in panic.

"There was someone else in that mirror," I whisper, my hands shaking as I point to the mirror. "A woman wearing all black staring at us."

"I don’t see anything, hun. It’s nothing."

After calming my breathing I decide it was nothing and blamed it on my pregnant hormones. Josh and I fell back into the same rhythm, finishing together, and falling asleep in our sweaty entanglement. 

The morning sun shine through the large windows of the room, the birds chirping. 

"Morning," Josh mutters, covering his eyes with the duvet.

"Morning, " I whisper back, making my way to the bathroom. After finishing my usual business I walk to the mirror fix my hair and brush my teeth.

And that’s when I notice it.


	2. [two]

I WATCH JOSH'S CAR DISAPPEAR DOWN THE DRIVEWAY. Since we're living in Kentucky now he has time to hang out with his brother more often. Connor goes to the University of Kentucky. He just completed his undergraduate in Biosystems Engineering and is now going for his Master's and PhD in Biomedical Engineering. Such a smart kid. 

While Josh is off getting lunch with him, I am left alone in the house. The thought making me feel uneasy. Especially with what I saw this morning. When I was pulling my hair up into a ponytail I saw some discolouration on my neck. I turned the light on the bathroom to check it out further. There was a dark purple rash that spanned the entire circumference of my neck. As if there was a noose around that pulled too tightly. 

Josh and I were pretty into it last night. Maybe he had his arms around my throat and he was a little too forceful. That must be it. I grabbed a scarf from one of the boxes to cover it up. 

Brushing the thoughts aside I grab a few boxes marked kitchen and find homes for their contents. An hour passes and the boxes are empty. The cabinets and drawers are finally filled. This part of the house beginning to feel homey.

As I break down the boxes to carry out to the garage I hear a peculiar knocking sound. Taking a deep breath I tell myself it's just branches from one of those trees hitting the windows. I take note to tell Josh to trim them later. 

With the bundle under my arms I make my way to the side door. As I'm passing the main staircase I hear a creak from above. When I look up I see the same woman from last night staring down at me, her faint hands holding onto the banister. 

I drop the boxes I'm carrying and shut my eyes tight, "Who are you?" I scream. When I open my eyes again the woman is no longer there.

"This is all kinds of fucked up," I mutter to myself leaving the boxes on the floor and grabbing the keys before heading out the door.

I can't be going crazy. This house has to have some story behind it. It just wasn't recent enough for the realtor to have to come clean about it. 

The library is about a twenty minute walk from our house. During that time the cool air calmed me down, the exercise clearing my mind.

As I enter the building I can feel the stares of the few residents in the room. I give a polite smile before rushing to an available computer. 

It took about a half hour of searching before I was able to pull up the historical records of the town from the late 1800s. There was only information about the first family that lived there. Nothing after that. I decided to dive deeper into the records and that's when I found exactly what I was looking for.

Five people were murdered in this house.

Five people.

Murdered.

"Oh my God," I gasp looking through countless articles with similar headlines. There were even photographs of the bodies. I send some of these to the printer. No wonder this girl's spirit still lingers in our house. She probably has some unfinished business. 

Just then a hand touches my shoulder and it startles me.

"Didn't mean to scare you m'dear but the library is closing now," the librarian informs me. 

"It's 5 o'clock already? Oh I'm sorry. I was so wrapped up. I'll be on my way."

"Say you're that couple that's moved into the old brick house down the road?" she inquires. I simply nod. "Judging by your print outs you've seen something there haven't you?"

"Not really," I lie, "I just wanted to get some information on the house. See what kind of history it has."

She senses my fib, I can see the judgement in her eyes. 

"Well, be careful. Folks that buy that house never last more than a week," she warns as she saunters off.

"That makes me feel so much better," I mumble under my breath as I pick up the papers and prepare to leave.

I reach our driveway and make a slow trip up to the house. I can see Josh's car in the overhang which makes me feel a lot better. When I enter the house he's sitting at the dining room table drinking some coffee.

"Hey, how was lunch?" I ask.

"It was good. I decided to get your disposable developed while I was out," he tosses the package to me. "Where'd you go off to this afternoon?"

"The library to look up this house."

"Find anything spooky?" Josh taunts.

"I did actually. Look." I handed them the papers. 

Josh flips through the articles mumbling and furrowing his brows. I begin to flip through the photos. We went snap crazy at the old house, making sure we captured every memory we had there. As I flipped through each photo a pang of sadness hit me. I wish we hadn't moved. I'm reaching the end of the stack when I come across the photo we took yesterday in front of the house. 

And there she was. The woman in black clear as day on the right side of the yard. I throw the photo at Josh and cover my mouth in shock. 

Josh picks it up to examine what made me freak out. When he finally sees it I he says, "What in the fuck!?"

When Josh is done enunciating the 'k' in fuck the lightbulb in the kitchen goes insanely bright before exploding.


	3. [three]

STRANGE THINGS CONTINUED TO HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE WEEK. We would notice that picture frames that were once straight were now slanted. We would put them back up on the two hooks and later on they would be diagonal once more.

One night when lying in bed, we heard what sounded like children running along the hallways and giggles of small children playing. Could this be the brothers of Annabelle Michaels? 

Along with the moving frames and footsteps, doors were known to shut on there own, whispers were heard, light touches of the shoulder felt and some of the clocks were known to stop working after 3:00 am.

But the woman in black never made another appearance to Josh or I.

A cold autumn night, I found myself being awoken by the sound of knocking. Feeling extremely uneasy I shook Josh awake.

"What is it, Alice?" he grumbles, slowly turning over to face me.

"All I hear is knocking and it won’t stop, do you hear it?"

We sit in silence for a moment but the knocking sound I heard earlier ceases. 

"It’s nothing Alice, just ignore it, you’re psyching yourself out," he mutters rolling back over.

"Josh, it feels like I am going fucking insane, there’s no way I can ignore this shit," I yell back.

He sits up, “Well, what the fuck do you want me to do about it? Hey, excuse me ghost that lives in the house, can you maybe not knock late at night, keep it to the day time, my wife is trying to get some sleep, thanks!”

I roll my eyes at him, groan and turn away from him. Since this activity started we’ve been fighting over the tiniest things. A toothbrush being left on the counter. Not parking the car fully under the overhang. Dinner being to salty. Someone hogging the couch. The list goes on.

That’s it, I decide to myself. When Josh goes out tomorrow I’m walking over to that antique store across from the library and picking up a ouija board. If he’s not going to do anything about it I’ll have to take matters into my own hands.

—-

I pretend to be asleep as Josh gets ready to leave early in the afternoon. He hasn’t told me where he’s off to but right now I don’t care. I wait until I hear the lock of the front door before ripping the covers off me. I run to the front window of the house and watch as the car goes down the driveway.

I run to the closet, throw on an outfit and quickly throw my hair up in a messy bun. Grabbing the house key from the front table I leave the house. 

I enter the antique shop, the bell sounding showing my entrance. I browse the shelves. Seeing lots of tea sets and old chests but, not what I’m looking for. 

When I notice I’m the only one in the store I walk up to the elderly man behind the counter.

"Can I help you?" he asks, I look at his name tag, it reads Edmund.

"Hi, I’m looking for a Ouija board. Do you have any?" I hesitantly say. I’m sure he probably thinks I’m insane.

"We do have one. It’s in the back because people are uncomfortable seeing it as they pass. Give me a second to retrieve it for you, Miss…" 

"Hutcherson."

He gives me a faint smile and a nod before sauntering to the back.

Edmund comes back moments later with a rectangular box in hand.

"Here it is," he says as he puts it on the counter, "May I ask why your interested in such a thing?"

 

"I’m having a small get together for Halloween and thought it would be the perfect centrepiece," I lie.

"It is indeed. But be careful. Owning this is not to be taken lightly. When you use this your allowing spirits into this world, good or bad." A stern look placed on his face.

"I got it," I smile, handing him cash, "Thanks. Keep the change."

Taking my new toy from the counter I make my way home at a quick pace. As I enter the house I put the box on the kitchen table and grab my laptop from the living room.

"Thank God the cable guy hooked up the internet this week," I mumble. "Now to look up how to use one of these."

An hour into my research I notice the sun beginning to set darkening the room. I better do this now before Josh gets home. I grab the digital camera and tripod from the other room and set it up facing the dining room table just in case I can’t read the words fast enough. Grabbing a few candles I light them and place them on the table. I turn the lights off in the room before taking a seat in the chair resting the board on my lap.

Taking a deep breath I grab the planchette from the table and place it on the G with both hands.

"I call upon my guardian angels to aide me and oversee this session."

"Is there anybody in the room with me?" The internet told me to be patient. Nothing might happen. So I sit in silence then ask again.

This time the planchette begins to move and it heads towards the YES.

Stay strong, I tell myself.

"How many?"

My fingers are still at first but it slowly moves to the 1.

"Is it the woman I keep seeing around the house?"

It goes to YES. I move it back to the G.

"Is your name Annabelle?"

It goes back to the YES.

"Why are you here?"

The board spells out HOME.

"Are you here to harm us?"

The board is quiet. The air around me thickens and a chill goes down my spine.

"Are you a good spirit?"

The planchette moves to NO.

Fuck. I should stop now before something happens but I have one more question to ask.

"What do you want?"

My fingers move to Y then O then U. Then to GOODBYE.

Josh’s POV.

I park my car and walk to the front door. The house lights are off. I wonder if Alice is home. I admit the house is a little haunting but I’m sure if we ignore it everything will go away.

When I enter the door my heart stops in my chest. Alice is sitting at the kitchen table her mouth agape. Behind her is the woman in black. The apparition turns her head to face me and a smile forms on her face. She disappears as the candles on the table go out.

That’s when Alice begins to scream out in pain.


	4. [four]

I HAVE NEVER FELT THIS MUCH PAIN BEFORE IN MY LIFE. One second I’m sitting at the kitchen table the next moment I’m hunched over in pain. It feels like menstrual cramps turned up a few notches. I want to get up so I can lie down on the couch but my body won’t let me. All I can do is hold onto my lower abdomen and hope the pain dissipates soon.

I look to my left and Josh is standing at the front door in shock. My screaming probably scared the living shit out of him. Why isn’t he coming to help me? 

I move my hands from my body and notice they feel funny so I look down. They’re covered in blood. I get up from the chair and collapse on the floor in the fetal position screaming and crying.

I’m having a miscarriage. 

I lost my baby.

Our baby.

Josh sees the pool of blood and runs to my side.

"No, no, no, no, no," he wails, tears falling down his cheeks as he clutches my frail body. Getting up from the floor he grabs the phone and dials 911.

I move my body to the wall and lean myself against it. I’m no longer crying. I no longer feel sad. I feel nothing. I just watch as a very emotional Josh talks to the 911 operator. 

Why is he so upset? He didn’t carry it? An unknown female voice pops into my head and frightens me a little. 

As Josh hangs up the phone he looks at the Ouija board on the table. 

"Oh my God, Alice. What were you thinking?!"

"I just wanted some answers," I whisper back.

"Did you like the answers you got?!" he practically yelled.

"No."

"Why are you smiling what’s wrong with you? Are you happy this is happening to you? To us?"

I’m not smiling. Am I? I lift my hands to my face and feel the dimples on my cheeks. What is wrong with me? This is not who I am.

The sound of sirens halts me from answering. 

"Stay here," Josh demands, "I’ll run up to our room and grab a few things."

He unlocks the door before making his way up the stairs. A few minutes later the door is being opened by two EMS carrying a stretcher and a bag of supplies. 

They lift my limp body and carefully place it on the stretcher. They do a routine check. They analyze my pulse and assess the situation down below. It must be bad because they’re putting in wads of gauze to control the bleeding.

Finally, one of them speaks up. “I’m sorry to inform you Mrs. Hutcherson but you’re having a miscarriage. We can get blood tests done at the hospital to see otherwise, but it’s not looking good. You’ve lost a lot of blood so far. How far along were you?”

I don’t speak. The shock of the situation hitting me. My body feeling not like my own. I am carrying a dead fetus in my stomach. I now know the past few months were for nothing. All the hard work and planning I put in to make sure we had the healthiest child. I have no family history of disease or cancer. Neither does Josh. So why us? Why now?

"Mrs. Hutcherson?" the EMS asks again.

I look at him with no emotion. My lips forming a firm line. A single tear rolling down my cheek. 

"Four and a half months," Josh says for me.

"It’s odd for this to happen so far into the pregnancy, but things like this can happen. Let’s get you to the hospital."

The two men grab hold of each end of the contraption making sure I’m always parallel to the ground. Josh decides to ride along with us in the ambulance refusing to leave my side. The whole ride into town was silent. A few words passed between the EMS on my health status or phoning in to have a bed ready. 

Once we arrive I immediately get hooked up to some monitors and an IV drip put in place. A nurse draws some blood from my vein and quickly sends it off to the lab. An ultrasound technician sets up her equipment before placing the device on my belly. She informs us that the amniotic sac is no longer in tact and a fetal heartbeat can’t be found. Another doctor comes in to do a pelvic exam and sees that I am dilated. 

"Now Mrs. Hutcherson, usually in these cases we just let it run its course but you’ve lost too much blood already. May I suggest a D&C?"

I don’t care what they do with me at this point. I just give him a short nod before turning my attention to the window. 

I’m given a general anesthesia and the procedure is underway. Not once do I look at anyone. Not once do I flinch at the pain. 

This is the worst day of my life.

Well it’s better than my worst day, that patronizing voice from before speaks internally. I attempt to tune her out but I keep getting images quickly flashing into my brain. They look like they’re out of those articles I printed but more real. Like I was actually there. 

It’s finally over and they leave me to rest. Josh comes in to hold my hand. We stay this way for a bit not one of us say a word to one another.

A nurse comes in and informs Josh that I’ll have to be kept over night for some monitoring due to loss of blood and that he can come back in the morning to take me home. So with that knowledge, he kisses me on the cheek and heads home, leaving me in the hospital room alone with another voice in my head.

Something tells me this isn’t a good sign.

—-

Josh’s POV.

I’m on my way back to the hospital to bring home Alice. The deep purple circles under my eyes a dead giveaway for the amount of sleep I got last night. Every time I shut my eyes I saw Alice screaming on the floor in a puddle of blood. Or I see that ghostly woman smiling back at me. Or when it was quiet I heard the blood curdling scream. 

I ended up on the sofa watching the television mindlessly before the time to leave came around. I reach the building at eight o’clock sharp, navigating through the hallways getting to her room. When I get to room 211 I notice a nurse setting the bed up for another patient.

"Excuse me?" I ask her befuddled.

"Can I help you?" she returns.

"Where’s my wife? Where’s Alice Hutcherson?" I feel my voice raising.

"She checked herself out this morning, Mr. Hutcherson."

What? “How long ago?” 

"About a half hour," she informs me.

"Thanks," I mutter before walking out of the room. Why didn’t she call me to pick her up? How is she getting home?

I run out to the parking lot and get in the car quickly reaching for my cell phone. I call the house and there is no answer. I call her cell phone but it goes straight to voicemail. Running my fingers through my hair I scream out in frustration, my forehead touching the steering wheel.

I phone my mother and she tells me I should just go home and wait. There’s a chance she’s made her way back. So I do just that.

Once the car is parked under the overhang I run into the house calling out her name and getting no response.

Where the hell can she be? I think worriedly. My attention then goes to the camcorder pointing at the kitchen table. Maybe it has answers.

I hook it up to the laptop and watch the last thing that was recorded. It was Alice setting up the Ouija board. I fast-forward until I can see her hands moving across the board. I gasp at what I’m seeing.

Seeing that she contacted Annabelle. Seeing that she wasn’t a good spirit. Seeing that what she wanted most was Alice. 

As the clip keeps playing the front door of the house opens and in strolls Alice. But she doesn’t look like Alice. The sweet girl I fell in love with is no longer there. There’s a wicked quality about her now. Her eyes are dark. Her body rigid. 

Did the loss of our child cause her to have a mental break?

Or is it something spiritual?

"Alice where the hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick! Why didn’t you call me from the hospital I would’ve picked you up," I spout as I walk towards her.

A devilish grin forms on her lips.

"I’m not Alice. I’m Annabelle."


	5. [five]

THE LOOK OF TERROR ON JOSH'S FACE KILLED ME. He was expecting his sweet, broken down, helpless wife and now he gets me. It didn't take long for Alice to give in. 

At first, I let her sit in silence and listened. As the nurse finished her last round for a while I began to plot out my plan. Being inside Alice I could hear most of her thoughts. Her mind wasn't very shielded as she didn't know her body was infiltrated yet. She was constantly thinking about the last few hours. Nothing about the house or the Ouija board. Mostly about the loss of her unborn child.

The doctors said that she was going to have a son. They asked her if she wanted to name him. Josh and her decided on William. They had the body cremated and were going to take him home in a small urn. 

The doctors were baffled at the miscarriage. Alice was perfectly healthy. The fetus was perfectly healthy. They could not figure out what caused it.

This whirlwind of events caused Alice to get into a very depressive mindset. She hated herself for what happened. She blamed everything on her. She thought that there was a reason why her son was taken from her and she thinks it has something to do with her past. Every time the thought of going home popped into her mind her body would tense. Not once picturing it as the place that creeped her out but a place where something bad happened.

I mean, in a way she was right. Bad things always happen in that house. Her miscarriage. Me murdering my family and committing suicide. A lot of new couples that buy the house end up leaving in a week and divorced. It was even used as meeting place to sell meth.

I digress. Alice was restless so I decided to start talking to her.

What are you going to do? I ask. Her body freezes. Her hands griping the bed rails.

I'm going insane, Alice thinks to herself.

I can hear your thoughts you know. You're not going insane.

Who am I talking to? Myself? she wonders.

It's me. Annabelle.

Did you do this to me? she yells angrily.

It may have been the ending result of my possession of your body yes. If you think about it you brought it on yourself. You're the one that went so far as to contact me. You're the one that let me fully live in this world. So thank you for that. 

What do you want from me?

I want what was taken from me. I want to live. The whole town was accusing me of being a witch and was going to have me burned at the stake. A witch I was not. I was just a teenage girl who wanted a long happy life and it was taken from me. I want a second chance and you have given it to me.

What makes you so sure that you can just take it?

I cackled. You're forgetting I can hear your thoughts. You're miserable. From what I sense you've been miserable for a short while now. Tonight putting you over the edge. You don't want to go so far as to kill yourself. You just want to shut yourself off from the world for a bit. You don't want to make the mistake I did. Ending your life. At the time I thought it was the only option. I didn't give it much thought. If I could go back in time I'd do things a little differently. So what do you say? 

How can I trust you're going to give control back to me? You just said yourself that you wanted to live a long happy life.

My goals have changed sweet Alice. All this time spent locked away in the spirit world had me thinking what I would do. I would give anything to be alive back then but now I want to seek revenge on the families of this town. For all the accusations they have made against me. For making me do such a horrible thing to my family. For God's sake, there was a coven witches living amongst the town and yet they were never suspected. How could people be so blind?

Well, after that I'm not allowing it now.

You have no choice now. Your will is too weak.

With all my strength I managed to gain almost full control of Alice's body. My soul spreading throughout her entire body, reaching every limb and digit. I allowed myself to indulge in the feelings of warmth for a while before I began the next step. Getting out of the hospital. 

It took a good twenty minutes before I was used to having physical limbs but it was easy to become accustomed. I took a look through Alice's bag and looked through it. I came across a signed cheque with her signature on it. I did a few practice scribbles on scrap paper before I thought it was passable.

The nurses didn't question my leaving. They needed the bed space and my health was stable. As I exited the building I tried to get a feel for my surroundings. It's been over a century since I have been able to leave the property. 

I decided to go with my gut and just walk in whatever direction I felt the most familiar. It didn't matter if I got it wrong. I was living again. Breathing in fresh air. Feeling the wind on my skin. The sun beating down on my face.

I found my street as the sun began to slowly lower in the sky. I contemplated not going back but, figured I should for a bit. I didn't feel like hiding from the massive search team Josh would have out for his wife if I didn't.

I stood at the front gate for a bit letting the gusts of wind create goosebumps on my arms then sauntered up the drive way. When I entered the house Josh was furious. I could tell that he noticed something was off but he wanted to get his pent up anger off his chest.

"Alice where the hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick! Why didn’t you call me from the hospital I would’ve picked you up," he spat as he walked towards me.

A big smile forming on my face.

"I’m not Alice. I’m Annabelle."

In that instant the life drained from Josh's face. It was once a flush pink and changed to a dull grey his mouth agape in horror.

"Now what am I going to with you?" I sweetly spoke as I trailed my finger down the side of his face.

His eyes roll back in his head and his body relaxes as he faints and falls to the floor.


	6. [six]

MY VISION IS CLOUDED WITH WEIRD IMAGES PASSING THROUGH. There's a dark grey film along the edges of my sight. It's like I'm seeing the world through an old camera. I don't see any colours. My colour spectrum going from black to white. 

My mind took me back in time to one of the happiest moments of my life. The day I married Alice. It was a mild autumn day and the weather was perfect. She looked absolutely beautiful when I saw her walking down the aisle. The air escaped my lungs and tears began to form in my eyes. I knew I was never going to see anything as breathtaking ever again.

That's when another moment came into view. Our first ultrasound. The first time we got to see our little bun in the oven. A small speck on the screen that was soon to grow bigger with each passing day. 

A memory of a large puddle of blood on a tile floor appears. Which makes me remember last night. 

The miscarriage. 

Alice.

Annabelle.

My head begins to throb sharply. I wince at the pain and rub the sides of my head. When I open my eyes I begin to see in colour again but things are a little blurry as I'm groggy.

Did I hit my head or something?

I look up to see Alice/Annabelle standing in front of me, back turned, donned in black lingerie. She doesn't realize I'm awake yet. I feel guilty taking in the view so I clear my throat. That's when she turns around and I see the same devilish smile appear on her face.

"You're finally awake I see," she spoke.

"What have you done with my wife?!" I shout.

"I've done nothing to her, sweetie. She gave it to me. She was done with the life she had. I think the little fiasco the other night tipped her over the edge."

My eyes widen with bewilderment. "Little fiasco?! LITTLE FIASCO?! You fucking murdered our child! Our son! And now you've basically murdered my wife!"

Annabelle cackles. "Everything that's happened was because of Alice."

"You have no fucking right. I know she's still in there. That sparkle in your eye is her and I will do whatever it takes to help her," I spat, "And put some fucking clothes on."

That's when that grin turned into a snarl. Her eyes turning black. That faint sparkle disappearing. I gulp as I fear for the next couple of minutes. I don't what this spirit is capable of.

"What did you just say to me?" she screams.

My throat runs dry and I can't find it in me to speak. I push my back against the wall and I slowly inch my way down the hallway.

"Are you deaf? What did you just say to me?" Annabelle bellows. I swear if this were a cartoon there would be smoke billowing out of her ears and her skin would be bright red. 

That's when the lights begin to surge. The buzzing sound lasting for ten seconds. The lights getting brighter and brighter. Just when I feel that the lights are going to explode they dim to there original brightness and Alice's body collapses to the floor.

I wait a few seconds before running over to her body lying slack on the floor. I have no idea who's going to wake up in control. My wife or Annabelle. Weighing several options in my head I opt for carrying the limp body into our bedroom. I put on a pair of sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt to cover up her skin. As I bring the duvet up to her chin I notice her eyes twitch. 

In fear I moved back, unsure of the outcome.

The eyes then open and they seem softer. Her pupils scanning the room quickly.

"Josh?" she hoarsely groans. "Josh! Where are you?"

I run to the bedside quickly. Alice is staring up at me. I know it's her. She's back. She managed to get in control. Thank God.

"I'm here, hun. I'm here. You're okay. You're safe now. I won't let anything hurt you," I murmur as I kiss her hand multiple times.

"What happened?" she questions softly.

Do I lie to her? Or do I tell her the truth? How much does she know? 

"Do you remember using the Ouija board the other night?" 

"Yeah. I contacted Annabelle. She said she wanted me. Then I felt pain. Now I'm here." she whispers. The realization of the events hitting her.

She places her hands on her stomach. She moves them around her stomach a shocked expression forming on her face.

"Our baby! I can't feel it move. Something's wrong, Josh. We need to go to the hospital now!" her voice gaining sound.

My heart sinks in my chest. I don't want to tell her but I do anyways.

"We lost it, Alice," I choke out, "we lost him."

She shakes her head from side to side and mutters "no" repeatedly. She begins to cry and I hop in the bed to console her. I too, have tears streaming down face. We're hugging each other. Our faces on one anthers shoulders. Moistening the shirts and constantly sniffling.

Suddenly her wailing turns into laughter and I pull her back abruptly. The evil look back in her features. I get up from the bed as quickly as I can.

"I deserve an award for that performance," she gives herself an applause. "Did you really think that she could come back so easily? Did you really think I would give something like this up so fast? You must be pretty stupid, Josh."

My body tenses at her confession. I'm running out of time to save my wife. If I don't act fast I'm going to lose her.

I leave the room shutting the door behind me. I can hear her laughing and mumbling to herself. With my back against the wall I slowly slide down, placing my head in my hands.

That's when a little lightbulb went off in my head.

She needs an exorcism.


	7. [seven]

I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM PLANNING AN EXORCISM FOR MY WIFE. As soon as the idea dawned on me I quickly pulled my phone out and looked up the minister of the church in town. It listed his address and telephone number. I wasn't sure how to go about this.

Do I go visit him in person or do I call him up?

I check the time. It's quarter after seven. I press my ear against the door and hear snoring coming from the room. 

"Perfect," I mumble. I enter the guest bedroom at the end of the hall. The decision to call has been made. I enter the digits into the key pad and pull the phone up to my ear. It begins to ring and on the third ring someone picks up.

"Father Martin's residence," a female voice says.

"Sorry to bother you m'am. My wife and I just moved to town and I have some questions about the congregation for Father Martin. Is he available to speak?" I stumble my way through.

"Oh, are you the Hutcherson's?" she asks.

"That's correct," I reply.

"I'll go get my husband." I hear the rustling in the background. A few clicks and bangs. Words muttered between them. Then a clearing of a throat.

"Mr. Hutcherson?" Father questions.

"Yes," I respond.

"What can I do for ya?"

"I need to ask you a favour. Or for some help. I know you don't know my family but we've run into some hard times the past week. I believe there is something evil in our house and that it now possesses my wife's body. It caused us to lose our child and I fear I will never be able to get my wife back again unless we do a exorcism," I'm out of breath. I talk as fast as I can so I can get everything out before Father Martin has a chance to shut me down.

"It's the old house from the 1800s?" he asks.

"Yes sir."

"How does your wife act?"

"Not like herself. Since she came home from the hospital today she's not been herself. She acts like nothing's happened. For minute I thought it could be just a mental break from everything but I don't believe it. I've seen things in this house. I've seen people. A person in particular that my wife had actually made contact with. Her name is Annabelle. The one who murdered her family centuries ago. I believe she is now in control of her body. And I am certain that my wife is still fighting for her life inside." 

My palms are sweating. I probably sound insane hearing myself say the information aloud. There is a brief silence on the other end followed by a shuffling of papers.

"I sound utterly nuts don't I, Father?" looking for an agreeance.

"No, son, you do not. The thing is, there needs to be a full investigation before an exorcism is allowed to occur. They need to look at medical records to make sure there is no mental or physical illness present. I'd need to come down there and see the situation for myself," he tells me.

"I'm afraid that we don't have that kind of time. You know the town. You know the stories of the house, don't you, Father?" I plead, "can you please make an exception?"

"I can get there in twenty minutes. I'll bring my supplies depending on the situation. This stays between you, me and God, you hear?" Father says.

"Thank you, Father, God bless," I repeat over and over again.

"See you in twenty," the line goes dead.

I go back out into the hall to make sure that Annabelle/Alice hasn't left the room. She's still fast asleep in the bed. Whatever that power surge was must've taken a lot out of her/it. As each minute passes it feels like an hour has gone by. The anticipation driving me insane. Will he show up on time? Will he do the exorcism? Will Annabelle allow it? Will she catch on before anything even happens?

Twenty minutes finally go by and I can see the light from the headlights of a car pull into our driveway. Quietly I get up to let him in.

Father Martin gets out of his car. A short middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair. I extend my hand to formally introduce myself.

"Josh Hutcherson" I announce.

He grabs my hand and firmly shakes it, "Father Martin, now where is she?"

"She's upstairs resting at the moment. We had a huge power surge and she collapsed to the floor. I think it drained some of her energy. Come on in."

I lead him through the foyer then up the stairs. When we enter the bedroom she is still asleep but the sound of footsteps and whispers wakes her up.

"You got a Priest in on this? You're pathetic," Annabelle spits. She takes off the duvet and I notice she's taken off the sweatshirt. On her skin she's scratched in crosses. Her facial features slightly sunken in and a dark brown tone given to them. She tries to make a run for it but I grab her by the shoulders and push her on to the bed. 

"Oh, I see how you want to play. In front of Father Martin? How twisted," a wicked grin forming. 

"You need to give me my wife back!" I begin to shout at her. My skin goes flush and I can feel some tears escaping my eyes. 

"NEVER," she growls in a baritone octave. Her body begins to twitch and convulse slightly trying to escape from my grasp.

"What should I do, Father?" I look to him in panic. He's set his bag on the ground and he's getting his equipment ready.

"Secure her," he stammered as he tosses me some fabric ties. I catch them and try to pin her down so I can attach her arms to the bedpost.

"Kinky," she laughed.

She gave a bit of a fight but my determination outweighed hers and I secured her.

Father Martin pours out Holy water onto his fingers and sprinkles it on himself, me and then Annabelle. She seems unphased.

"All-powerful God, pardon all the sins of your unworthy servant. Give me constant faith and power so that, armed with the power of Your holy strength, I can attack this cruel evil spirit in confidence and security..." he spoke as he took his thumb to make the shape of a cross on her forehead. She's silent at the moment just staring up at him.

"I exorcise you, Most Unclean Spirit! All Spirits! Every one of you! In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Be uprooted and expelled from this Creature of God..." he says this as he makes the sign of a cross on her once more but this time she reacts. She starts to laugh.

Father grabs his crucifix and begins to place it on her chest, her laugh growing louder. In an instant one of her hands become free and she grabs the relic from his hand. She smacks him across the face with it before she begins to lick the crucifix. 

"I cast you out Unclean spirit!" he bellows. "Be gone in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!"

Another power surge occurs. This time causing all the lights in the house to go out. The entire house is pitch black. No one can see anything in front of them.

And that's when we hear her laugh again. This time from a different direction from the bed.

Fuck.


	8. [eight]

SHE BROKE FREE FROM HER BINDINGS. Although I was extremely terrified of the situation I bolted for the bedroom door and shut it to ensure that she didn't escape from our presence. I can hear her deep cackle coming from beside me. 

Out of nowhere huge gusts of wind enter the room when the windows aren't open. The hair raises on the back of my neck and all along my arms. Goosebumps making themselves present amongst my skin.

Her voice deepens as she shouts, "You cannot get rid of me!" Then begins to mutter things in an unknown language to me. "Mihi non tam facile carere possis. Hoc est corpus meum. Et quia id quod movetur, dum vivit proximo ante. Uxor tua mortua est. Illa nunquam reversurum. Me solum relinquatis."

"What language is that?" I shout to Father. 

"Latin," he replies.

"What is she saying?" 

"I only understand a few words. Corpus is body. Mortua is dead."

This can't be good. 

"Reveal yourself! Who are you?" Father Martin asks, shining a flashlight in her face.

"Annabelle Michels," she returns with a smile. A smile meant for serial killers and psychopaths. 

"Annabelle, leave Alice's body now!"

"No!" she growls. She rids the rest of her clothes from her body and begins to dance seductively. She prances towards Father Martin and corners him leaving with no where to go. He begins to mutter a prayer as her hands reach for his groin area.

When her hands make contact she begins to laugh, "Forgive me Father for I have sinned."

This sends him over the edge, "Get back!" he shouts. "Quit mocking God and leave. God created a special place for people like you and all the other fallen angels. Hell."

"Pfft. You go to Hell," she retorts and begins making her way towards me.

"Get away from me!" I yell moving my hands up prepared to push her away.

"Oh, Joshua. Poor, Joshua. Once placed high on a pedestal but now just a pile of ashes. She never loved you. She was only in it for the money. She was going to leave you. She never even wanted the baby." She taunts.

I know it's not true but hearing it out loud stings. 

"She's tricking you! Trying to make you weak!," Father shouts.

With all my built up rage and energy I grab hold of her shoulders and throw her onto the bed. I stick my knee onto her chest pinning her down. Father runs over and continuously sprinkles Holy water on her exposed skin and chanting a series of prayers from Rituale Romanum. He's making cross marks with the water on her skin and on his. He presses the cross on her constantly. Her body begins seizing, Annabelle crying out for mercy. Her eyes begin bulging out of her head, her body tensing up. The whole bed begins to rock and I don't know if I have the strength to hold her down much longer.

When I start thinking about letting up just a little bit, the rocking ceases and her body slack. I quickly place my hands on her neck to check her pulse. 

"Still breathing," I sigh with relief.

Father takes the flashlight and shines it into her eyes. Her dilated pupils returning back to normal. Life slowly flowing back into her body.

"Do you think it worked?" I whisper.

"Only time will tell. Let's let her rest."

We shut the door behind us and make our way down the stairs. I find some spare candles in the kitchen drawer and light them. We sit in silence at the table. The only sound is breathing and occasional sips from a glass of water.

"You called me at the right time," Father speaks up. "I think if you let it go any longer we couldn't save her."

"We'll we're not in the clear yet. We still don't know if it worked," I mutter.

The power turns itself back on an hour later. We settle in the living room and mindlessly watch the news. This goes on a little while longer before we doze off.

\---

I'm awoken by the sound of movement. Father Martin is no longer resting on the couch beside me. A hear a door shut from upstairs and the sound of running water.

I wipe the sleep from my eyes and sprint up the stairs. When I enter the room I see Father asleep in a chair beside the bed and Alice walking back from the bathroom with fear in her eyes.

We both start running towards one another our eyes becoming glassy. She jumps up and wraps her legs around my torso, her arms around my neck. Alice buries her face in the crook of my neck and I kiss every inch of her I can reach.

"You're safe now," I murmur over and over again. "Everything's okay."

I lay her back down on the bed and I curl up behind her. Exhaustion taking over us once more.

When I awake, the chair beside the bed is now empty except for an envelope addressed to me.

Mr. Hutcherson,

I believe Alice's body is rid of Annabelle Michels. My advice is to leave this house as soon as possible. Have others pack up the things for you. Leave and never look back. Thank you for putting as much faith in me as I have in the Lord. 

God Bless,

Father Martin

I shake Alice awake, "Hey hun," I whisper.

Her eyes open a slit her mouth forming a tired smile.

"Let's get in the car and get away from here. How does that sound?"

"Perfect," she says, sitting up to kiss me.

And that's exactly what we do. We pack up and we drive. Never looking into the rearview mirror.


	9. [epilogue]

MY BODY FEELS OVERLY WARM. And my throat feels very tight. I tried to send signals from my brain to my limbs getting them to move. Nothing is happening. My thoughts are clouded with black. A black thick liquid swimming throughout my body. I want to move but I can't.

I hear a faint sound of beeping. I calculated the intervals and it seems to go off every 30 seconds. 

What is it? Where am I? I wonder.

The black liquid is becoming thinner and turning a softer grey. The internal heat I was experiencing is slowly dissipating. My fingers start to flutter.

"She's waking up," I hear a man's voice stutter.

"Get the nurse!" the same voice shouts.

My eyelids begin to quiver and gradually slit open. The room I am in is very bright. I look around to try and figure out my surroundings but all I see is white. I begin hyperventilating as I don't understand what's going on.

"It's okay. It's okay, Alice," the voice appears again. "It's okay. Calm down. Someone will be here to help you soon." 

I feel fingers weave themselves with mine then squeeze. The small motion giving me the strength to calm down for a short while.

As I wait my vision gets clearer. I can see the thin sheet spread over my body. A tube inserted into both my arms. I suddenly become aware of the tightness of my throat once more and begin to thrash around. 

I can't breathe.

I hear muffled shouting before someone grabs a hold of whatever was blocking my throat and yanks it out. My brain feeling like it's been squeezed before the pressure is released. I shut my eyes and have a coughing fit. My fingers clutching my throat.

When I finally open my eyes once more everything in the room has become clear. I am in the hospital. There are two nurses in the room staring at me and checking over my vitals. 

I feel that squeeze in my hand once more and turn to my right. There's a man sitting in the chair beside my bed. Dark brown hair and nice hazel eyes. There's huge circles under them indicating lack of sleep. I try very hard to remember who he is. 

He must be important to me right?

"Do you know where you are, Mrs. Hutcherson?" a nurse asks.

Hutcherson? I question myself. I look over at the man. That's Josh Hutcherson. That's my husband. The memories slowly rolling in.

"The hospital," I tell her.

"Do you know what year it is?" 

"Um…" I think long and hard, "2021?" 

"Correct."

"Do you know why you're here? Do you know what happened to you?" she asks.

I shut my eyes and try to bring what happened back but I'm drawing a blank so I shake my head no.

"You were in a car accident, sweetie. You've been in a coma for the past 27 days," she informs me.

My eyes go wide. "What!" I exclaim.

Josh's thumb begins to trace circles along my palms.

"Shh, Alice. You'll remember soon," he murmurs as he wipes tears from my eyes.

A sharp pain hits me in my stomach and I remember being pregnant. I hope the crash didn't kill my baby.

"Is the baby okay?" I look at Josh. His face expresses confusion.

"What baby?" 

"Our baby!" I yell at him.

"You were never pregnant, Alice," the nurse informs me.

"Yes I was!" I shout back to her. "Yes I was! And she took it from me! Annabelle took it from me!"

"Who's Annabelle, Alice?" Josh inquires.

"The woman in our house! The woman who murdered her entire family! The one who took control of my body! The one who made me lose my baby!" I am screaming, there's sweat falling from my face. 

"I'm sorry but, I don't know what you're talking about, Alice," Josh looks at me with empathy.

"Yes you do!" I cry, "You saw her. You took her out of me."

He lets go of my hand and hangs his head low whilst shaking it back and forth.

"You don't believe me," I whisper, my voice getting hoarse.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he reiterates.

"What state are we in?" I ask a nurse, not wanting to look into Josh's eyes.

"California," she states.

"Why are we in California when we live in Kentucky?" 

"Why are people telling me I never lost a baby when I did?"

I keep shouting multiple questions. Nothing making any sense.

"Your body's just in shock. Everything will become normal with time," a nurse says.

"Bullshit. Nothing's ever going to be normal!" I wail. "This isn't real!"

"Oh, but it is. You've been living in a alternate reality made up in your brain whilst you were in a coma. The alternate reality giving you the strength to stay alive. Something bad happened in that reality but I'm assuming a happy ending is the last you remember?"

I nod my head. This has to be the alternate reality. 

"This isn't real," I whisper.

"It is real," Josh murmurs back.

"I don't believe you," I whimper, tears falling down my face once more. My eyes catch sight of a sharp instrument. When I'm sure no one is looking I reach for it and place the blade on my throat. Making sure I hit the jugular. I push the blade in and a strange weight is lifted off my body. So I smile while everyone is frantic. 

Then my vision goes black.

When I come to I am no longer in a hospital bed. I am in the passenger side of the car driving away from our haunted home in Kentucky with Josh at the wheel. 

We're both happy. 

We're both smiling.


End file.
